Chance are if you'd told Pawtucket Red Sox lefthander Chris Hernandez that he'd face Joey Votto three times, and come away having yielded just a harmless single, he would have been happy with that.But not Sunday afternoon at McCoy Stadium, where Hernandez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before the slugging Cincinnati Reds first baseman--currently rehabbing a knee problem with triple-A Louisville--slammed a single into right-center field. Hernandez escaped that minor problem--except for two walks, no one else reached base--and exited an inning later having thrown 102 pitches that pretty well baffled the Louisville lineup.Both bullpens struggled before the PawSox clinched the 4-3 final decision, but the main story was the 25-year old southpaw who'd pitched the best game of his Pawtucket career, whiffed a career-high nine men, and defeated Louisville Bats' starter, ex-major leaguer Chien-Ming Wang."I started thinking about the no-hitter after the fourth inning," Hernandez admitted. "I remembered then that I hadn't given up any hits. Every time I sat down between innings I tried to stop worrying about that, and focusing on what was going on now.""If there was anybody I had to give up the first hit to, Joey Votto is certainly as good as it gets," said Hernandez. "I was a little tired by that point, and to tell the truth, on the pitch before that, which he fouled off, I felt I had gotten away with one. I tried to go up and away on him, and he went and got it. As soon as that happened I was more set on getting the win, and not really upset about the no-hitter."Hernandez is having a pretty good season at Pawtucket this year, despite the fact his record only improved to 3-6 after the win Sunday. He's definitely hoping to rekindle some interest from above, after a disappointing season in 2013 in Pawtucket. Back in 2012, Hernandez, a Florida native who compiled a 28-8 record as a starter at University of Miami, split time between AA Portland and Pawtucket. While his combined won-lost mark that year was just 5-12, he ranked second among all full-season Red Sox farmhands with a 3.26 earned run average.Expectations were fairly high going into last year, but the 6'2 Hernandez never got untracked. He was 1-8 as a starter with a 5.40 ERA, and while he was 2-1 in relief, his ERA jumped to 6.85. By the time August rolled around, Hernandez had a combined ERA of 5.72, to go with his 3-9 record, and he spent the last month of the season back in Portland. He was effective there, 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in five starts, but it was still a step backwards for a player in his fourth pro season.So far, 2014 has seen Hernandez slowly getting back in the groove, and his ERA was a solid 3.48 going into Sunday's fateful start. But just as the dreadful offensive numbers in Boston have made for a lot of upheaval, the Pawtucket offense hasn't been exactly on fire. Anyone who's shown any semblance of offense at Pawtucket has probably been promoted to the struggling BoSox. The PawSox have scored less than 3 runs in 34 games this season, with a record of 8-26 in those games, so Hernandez and all the pitchers have suffered from lack of support.But Sunday's extra added problem was Votto, the 2010 National league Most Valuable Player, after a season in which he slammed 37 homers, knocked in 113 runs, and batted .324. A four-time All Star, Votto has a lifetime batting average of .312. Last year Votto had his season cut a bit short by injuries, and only hit 24 home runs, with 73 rbis, while batting .305. Votto, 30, went on the disabled list May 16 with a sprained left knee, and Sunday was his first time in action since.Hernandez struck out Votto in the first inning, and induced a fly ball out when he faced him again in the fourth. Hernandez will probably remember that third at-bat most of all however, even if the larger perspective of his own pitching resurgence is more important in the long run."Chris Hernandez was just terrific today," said Pawtucket manager Kevin Boles. "He threw all his pitches effectively, and his cutter really had some bite to it. He maintained his effectiveness out of the stretch, got a lot of swings and misses, had a good tempo that kept his fielders engaged, and also got a lot of infield play outs."And then of course, he handled Votto okay until that single."What an impressive career Votto has had," said Boles. "I saw him for the first time in A-ball in Dayton, and we could see he was something special back then. He might pop it up, but he pops it up over the wall. Joey Votto was always a guy who stood out, and we all knew he had a chance to be a real quality major league hitter.""I'm very happy with today's game, but I'm still a work-in-progress," said Hernandez. "I kept them off-balance, and mixed my speeds, worked the ball in and out. It's always nice when you get a chance to remind people I'm still here, and I want to be in the mix for the big club too."Hernandez wanted to make sure he cited the coach who taught him the cut fastball he figures is his best pitch. His high school coach, Chuck Wyman, from Monsignor Pace High School in his native Florida helped the hurler develop the pitch he feels is central to any success he's had."My cutter was working very well today from both sides of the plate," said Hernandez, when asked what pitches were working best for him Sunday. "The cutter is pretty much my bread and butter and has been since high school. Anywhere I've gone, the cutter has been the single biggest thing that kept me getting outs and moving up the ladder, so I can never thank Coach Wyman enough."Louisville, presumably with Votto still in the lineup, is at McCoy Stadium for a night game Monday and a 1:05 p.m. matinee on Tuesday if fans want to see the Reds superstar. But if Boston fans wonder where some of the Fenway Park's future pitching help is coming from, they might want to make a trip to Pawtucket to check out the big lefty from Florida, too.